Snow, snow everywhere, hey look, snow in my hair!

For the third day in a row, it is snowing in Edinburgh. None of it seems to stick for long, but that doesn't stop it from coming down heavily at times. Looking out the window from the 8th floor of the Adam Ferguson Building yesterday, I was privy to a breathtaking view. Arthur's Seat, the cliff/hill/mountain thingy outside Hollyrood Park, was blanketed in snow. Laying at its foot were an array of old Scottish buildings all blanketed with a fine layer of powder, further enhancing the quaintness of that section of the city. Were it not for the lack of smoke and smog I would have been convinced I had been transplanted to Dickensian London.

While it remains rather cold here, and the ground is often slushy, I really can't complain. I have heat in my room, a fridge full of chicken and pork waiting to be cooked, many good books to read instead of doing my homework, and oh yes, there was a snowman on the front steps of the University library this morning. That certainly brightened my mood.

Tonight is my first ceilidh. A ceilidh (pronounced "kaley") is, as far as I can tell, some very simple sort of traditional Scottish dance that has you following simple steps called out by some announcer (making it the evil Scottish cousin of line dancing and square dancing). Luckily, they are plying us with a "welcome drink" and dinner before they demand that we set our feet a-tapping, so I'm praying that this will not be a nite where everyone realizes that Brian cannot follow more than 2-3 directions at a time before becoming hopelessly confused. I remember the last time I tried to do the hokey pokey. Five people died. It was horrible.